Device for the separation of matter from liquids



March 27, 1934. M, LOEB 1,952,211

DEVICE FOR THE SEPARATION OF-MTTER FRC LIQUIDS Filed Aug. l, 1930 l Us"A'61S line 3-3 of Fig. 1:

Patented 'Man 27, 1934 DEVICE FoR THE SEPARATION oF MATTER FROM LiQUIDsY Y Maurice Loeb, Chicago, 111., assigner to Frieda Loeb, Chicago, Ill.

ApplicatieaAugust 1, 1930, serial No. 472,359

1o claims. (o1. 21o-56) The invention has to do with the recovery ofmatter such as fats and the like from liquids lhaving a higher specificgravity than such matter, and particularly with the recovery of fatssuspended in a liquid such as water.

1 Heretofore the devices for removing fats and the like from liquidsAhavergenerally included a number of baille plates or devices whichserve a similar function. It hasV been found in the operation of devicesof this character that the baffle plates cause a Ydisturbance in theflow of the liquid, which-is dsadvantageous since separation is bestaccomplished of suspended matters Vwhen the liquid is disturbed aslittle as possible.

Furthermore, in the devices referred to the substances to be separatedpile up around the baiile plates and, inthe case of fats, they form ahard, stiff crust which it is difficult to remove and after a period ofoperation the device does not function o properly. Furthermore, theprior art devises have made no provision for the self -skimming of 'thematter to be removed. This has been done generally by hand. Such devicesrequire practically constant attention since the skimming must beperformed at regular intervals; otherwise in the case of fats andsimilar substances the vfats will become hard, the device clogged up,and in'addition the substancebeing recovered Amay become putrid orrancidfand lose its value.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a method anddevice in which the skimming operation is performed automatically.

A further object of the inventionis to eliminate the piling up of thefats in the separation chamber and elsewhere and to insure a constantremoval of the'separated material as it separates from the liquidcontaining the same.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of means wherebythe separated material l' 4g may be conveniently removed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art upon understanding the preferred embodiments thereofherein disclosed. It is to be understood that the preferred device,hereinafter disclosed, is for purposes of exemplication only sinceobviously changes may be made therein without departing from the truespirit and scope of the invention as denedby the appended claims.

Referring to the annexed drawing:

Fig. 1 isa view in cross sectionef a device embodying the-invention;y

Fig. 2 is a top plan v1ew of the device;

in crosss'ection taken on the Fig. 3 is a view l Fig. 4 is a detailedcross sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detailed View taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4showing a portion of the means for operating the skimming mechanism.

The device includes a separation chamber indicated in the drawing by thereference numeral 11, at one end of which the matter-containing liquidis introduced throu'ghthe pipe 12 which is suitably secured to the endwall of the chamber.- The bottom of the separation chamber 11 isinclined toward the outlet and the lower portions of the side wallsconverge inwardly at an increasing angle as they approach the outletend, so that a channel portion is formed at the bottom of the separationchamber. The-shallow end 13 of the chamber is directly below the pipe 12and the deep end 14 is located at the outlet end ofv the chamber. Thebottom portion of the chamber at the outlet 4end is relatively narrow.75 Axed to the end of the pipe 12 and to cause the introduced liquid toflow toward the bottom of the chamber is provided a itting 15. Thisiitting projects outwardly and downwardly from the pipe as indicated inFigs. l and 2 and has, at the center'of the inner front wall thereof, aV- shaped member 16 which divides the flow-and causes a portion thereofto be distribut'edto the right and another portion to the left of saidseparating chamber. 8 The outlet end ofthe chamber is formed by aninclined wall 17 which is spaced from the narrow bottom 14 of theseparation chamber. The outgoing liquid passes through thechanneledbottom of the separation chamber under the wall 17 and thence 'throughthe passage 17a between the wall 17 and the-wall 18 to a dischargeconduit or pipe 19 which is located in the wall 18 approximately on thelevel with the inlet pipe 12. The bottom of the wall 17 is inclinedtoward the wall 18 so as to give a Venturi effect thus increasing thespeed of the outgoing liquid as it passes under the wall'17 and into thepassage 17e. n A housing 20 attached tothe wall 18 is provided in whichis mounted containers 21 that receive the skimmed off separated matter,as hereinafter described. Bail members 21a are attached to thecontainers to facilitate handling thereof. The top of the housing 20,which is indicated by the reference numeral 22, is removable therefromor is hinged thereto so that it may be opened as shown in the drawing,hinges being provided at the point 23 and a locking device at the point24.

It will be noted in the drawing that the inlet end of the chamber 11 isrounded at the corners and 26 as shown in Fig. 2. The purpose inrounding the chamber instead of providing square corners is to prohibitthe formation of eddy currents and dead spots.

The skimming mechanism includes a plurality of skimming members ortroughs, two being shown in the drawing and indicated by the referencenumerals 27 and 28 respectively,`which are provided With means foradjusting the height thereof. The skimming members may be of any ldersired shape although preferably somewhat narrower and deeper at theirdischarge ends. The tops of the troughs are so constructed as to belevel and at approximately the top of the liquid in the separationchamber. The troughs shown in the drawing are provided with rounded ends29 which conform to the'shape of the separation chamber and the bottoms30 thereof incline at a sharp pitch toward the outlet end of theseparation chamber. The side walls of the skimming member 31 convergetoward the outlet end. Obviously if'it were desirable the skimmingmembers might be made a part of the side walls of the l chamber.

` threads into the side walls of the chamber. By

releasing the screw-threaded member 34 tbe bar 32 may be raised orlowered then firmly held in place by tightening said screw-threadedmember. It is apparent that any means for adiusting the height of theskimming members may be utilized and in some installations no adjustingmeans need be provided to obtain satisfectory results.

Means are provided at the outlet end o f the skimming members forconducting the grease therefrom, said means comprising a pipe or conduit36 which is screw-threaded into the outlet end of the skimming memberand which passes through the walls-17 and 1,8. Adjustment of the heightof the outlet end or the skimming member is accomplished, as. shown inFigs- 4 and 5, by means oi tbe provision of an eccentric plug 36 whichis screw-threaded into or i'its tightly within a housing or passage 37which is formed between the walls 17 and 18. A handle member 38 isattached to the eccentric plug 37 and the grease outlet pipe is mountedoff center in said plug. Obviously, by rotating the handle member 38 theplug 36 is rotated and the pipe 35, being mounted off center therein, israised or lowered thus raising or lowering the outlet end of theskimming members. Attached to the pipe 35 is a flexible extension pipe39 which is adapted to extend over the top of the grease container 21.To'p'ermit removal of the grease containers 21 from the housing`42),'the flexible extension pipe 39 is bent upward so that the topthereof is above the top of its associated skimming'trough, thusstemmingthe ow of the recovered material and providing clearance for'theremoval of the containers 21.

Automatic means are provided for flexing the extension pipe 39,which'means includes a chain or wire 40 which is rotatably connected tothe pipe 39 at one end and to the "cover 22 at the other end, so thatwhen the cover 22 is elevated the free end of the flexible pipe 39 isalso elevated and, conversely, when the cover 22 is lowered the pipe 39drops back into position.

The cover 22 has associated with it a spring 41 that is connected to thecover through an angle iron 42 secured to the under side of the cover atthe hingedend thereof and at its other end to the outer wall v20 ofthe'device'. Thus when the locking bolt 24 is released, the cover willbe thrown open under the action of the spring 41, the free end of theexible pipe 39 raised, the flow of the separated material stemmed, andclearance is afforded for raising the containers 2,1 out of the devicefor emptying.

' In the operation of the device, the liquid-containing fats or similarmatter is introduced through the pipe 12 and directed downwardly by thecoupling 15. Due to the shape of the coupling l5 the ow is spread outtoward the sides of the separation chamber and a currentgprogressesacross the bottom of tbe chamber to the outlet end 14 tbereof- Thecentral and top portions of the chamber are quiescent so that asy thefst separates out it gi'avitates to the quiescent surface of the liquidat the top of the chamber. The current or movement along the bottom ofthe Chamber iS incipit-Sed @S il? Il .aSSeS lllldel th Wall 17 due tothe Vent 1i effect resulting from the inclined relationship of the Walll? to the wail 13. The fat free of the apparatus duit 19. i

, The liquid being fed into tbc apparatus gen.- cmlly contains inaddition to the substances to be separated, some other suspended matterswhich, having a specilic gravity greater than that of the liduidy settleto the bottom and are carried along by the flow to the bottom endl@ o fthe chamber Where it would normally tend to collect but due to theincreased speedof the liquid under the Wall 17 it is agitated and againsuspended and carried up and out of the discharge conduit.

The separated materiel iloeting on the top of liquid then is conductedout through the discharge contbe quiescent liquid of the separationchamber is drained oli through the separating troughs 2 7 and 28 and,due to the step. incline of the bottom O f these troughs, grcvitates tothe discharge out.- let thereof, passes through the conduit 35 end isemptied into the tanks 2l- BY properly adjusting ming troughs tocompensate for surging very little liquid other than the, separatedmaterial Will be introduced therein end the materiel in the tanks 21Will be practice-illy sli seperated material, thu: l

the capacity of these tanks is utilized most effec-i tively.

met I @nim s.

12 A device of the class described comprising a separation chamber,means w 4 liquid int-o said chamberfmeansfor con,ducting liquid fromsaid chaiibr" viirieais postoned et the initd leve-1 efseid orienter iercontinuously drawing o 'if theseparated material, a second chamber, acontainerinounted in'said terial,`and` rn'eans'ior stoppingthev'low'frofm said skimming 'means upon opening" saidsecond chamber. 2.A device of the class described comprising a separation" chamberl'"being progressively"deeperv from'the "inlet end thereof to the. outletend thereofendftliebottom portion of said chamber being narrdterthgn theheight of the snmfor introducing second chamber to receive saidseparated malsaid separation chamber the top portion, means forintroducing yinto said chamb ei',

means for discharging liquid from said chamber, skimming meanspositioned at the top of said chamber, a discharge outlet from saidskimming means, a second chamber having a door therein, a container forreceiving the skimmed. oi material from said discharge outlet mounted insaid second chamber, and means for stopping the flow of liquid into saidcontainer upon the opening of the door of said second chamber.

3. A device of the class described comprising a separation chamber,skimming means positioned at the top of said chamber, means forvertically adjusting said skimming means, said adjusting means includingan eccentric mounted in the walls of said chamber and operablyassociated with said skimming means, and a discharge conduit connectedto said skimming means and passing through said eccentric.

4. A device of the class described comprising a separation chamber, arstorage chamber positioned atrone side of said separation chamber,means for continuously skimming the liquid in said separation chamberand conducting the skimmed off material into said storage chamber, andmeans for stemming the flow into said storage chamber upon opening ofthe same.

5. A device of the class described comprising a separation chamber, theside walls of the separation chamber being rounded at the inlet endthereof and shallower at the inlet end than at the outlet end, thebottomof said separation chamber converging toward the outlet end, meansfor conducting liquid from the outlet end of the chamber at the bottomthereof, means for introducing liquid into said chamber at the inlet endand directing the ow of liquid downwardly and toward the sides of saidchamber, and means for continuously skimming the liquid positioned atthe top of said chamber.

6. A device of the class described comprising a separation chamber, Aastorage chamber positioned at one sidev of said separation chamber,containers adapted to be positioned within said storage chamber, meansfor continuously skimming the liquid in said separation chamber, a

flexible conduit connected to said last mentioned means and projectinginto said storage chamber, the end thereof being above Vsaid containers,a cover for said storage chamber, means connecting said flexible conduitto said cover so that when said cover is raised the free end of saidflexible conduit will be raised.

7. A device of the class described comprising a separation chamber, astorage chamber positioned at. one side of said separation chamber,means for continuously skimming the liquid in said separation chamber, aflexible conduit for conducting the skimmed off material into saidstorage chamber, a cover hinged to said storage chamber, resilient meansassociated with said cover for opening the same, means connecting saidcover with said flexible conduit so that when said cover is opened thefree end of said conduit will be raised.'

8. In a device of the class described, comprising a separation chamber,the bottom portion of said chamber sloping inwardly' from the side Wallsand progressively narrowing from the intake end toward the exhaust end,-means for introducing liquid into said separation chamber and directingthe flow toward the bottom thereof, means for conducting liquid out ofsaid chamber and upwardly, said means being positioned at the narrowestpoint in thebottom of said chamber to provide a relatively rapid flowalong the bottom of said chamber and a substantially quiescent body ofliquid at the top of said chamber.

9. In a device of the class described, comprising a separation chamber,the bottom portion or said chamber sloping inwardly from the side wallsand progressively narrowing from the intake end toward the exhaust end,means for introducing liquid into said separation chamber and directingthe flow toward the bottom, means for'conveying liquid out of the bottomof said chamber and upwardly, said means being positioned at thenarrowest point in the bottom of said chamber to provide a Vrelativelyrapid rate of flow along the bottom of said chamber and a substantialquiescent body of liquid at the top of said chamber, and meanspositioned rat the liquid level of the heavier liquid in said chamberfor skimming off the lighter liquid from said chamber.

10. In a device of the class described, comprising a separation chamber,the bottom portion of said chamber sloping inwardly from the side wallsand progressively narrowing from the intake end toward the exhaust end,means for introducing liquid into said separation chamber and directingthe flow towards the bottom, means for conveying liquid out of thebottom of said chamber and upwardly, said means being positioned at thenarrowest point in the bottom of said chamber to provide a relativelyrapid rate of iiow along the bottom of said chamber and a substantialquiescent body of liquid at the top of said chamber, means positioned atthe liquid level of the heavier liquid in said chamber-for skimming offthe lighter liquid from said chamber, a second chamber for receiving thedrawn oi liquid from' the rst'mentioned chamber, and means forpreventing the ilow of liquid from said iirst mentioned chamber to saidsecond chamber.

MAURICE LOEB.

